


A Tale of Two

by sergiosbaby



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:28:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28668489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sergiosbaby/pseuds/sergiosbaby
Summary: When Raquel Murillo and Sergio Marquina enter Hogwarts for their first year, they have no idea of the story fate has written out for them, including the magical classes, flying brooms, and strange creatures around every corner. As the years pass by, friends are made, exams get more difficult, and feelings slowly start to grow.Will Sergio and Raquel survive with their relationship intact?
Relationships: Raquel Murillo/Professor | Sergio Marquina
Comments: 23
Kudos: 60





	1. Year 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi my loves!
> 
> After what feels like millions of years (I may be exaggerating, but I am allowed to when it comes to this story) I am finally releasing this beautiful Serquel AU! 5 months of constant teasers and hints must've been exhausting, and I apologize for it as I can't seem to keep anything to myself nowadays. Here are a few reminders before you begin the story:
> 
> 1\. NONE of these characters belong to me. Sergio, Raquel, and the rest of the LCDP characters are owned by the creators of LCDP, same goes to the Harry Potter Universe and characters that are in this fic. I used these characters simply for a work of fanfiction, nothing more. All rights go to their respective owners.
> 
> 2\. This fic is, for the most part, a soft and fluffy one, but there will be certain scenes in the coming years that may be triggering to some. I will be posting trigger warnings in their respective chapters, of course, but if you don't like them, please feel free to skip the story. No one is forcing you to be here.
> 
> 3\. Last but not least, please try to take the fic as lightly as possible! I am aware that some people in the fandom get agitated when the couple ends up in a way they do not desire, but I also assure you I will do my best to give this lovely couple the ending they deserve. Whether you like it or not is up to you, but please do not leave hateful comments if something you wanted did not happen.
> 
> Thank you all so much for taking time out of your day to read this story, and I hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave your thoughts down in the comments or in my twitter dms, @alvarosbabyy <3

**YEAR ONE**

“Welcome to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!”

Dumbledore’s voice echoed throughout the Grand Hall, students and teachers alike clapping, excited to celebrate (and eat), their way through the first day of the new school year. Four long tables took up the majority of the room, each one being filled by hundreds and hundreds of students, excited to learn magic once more. The teachers were seated at the front, looking over all of them. No one was out of place. Everyone knew where they belonged.

Except the first years, of course.

Raquel Murillo looked around the hall, feeling  _ extremely  _ nervous having just gotten to the school for the first time. All of this was new to her, the flying horses, the huge giant (whose name was Hagrid, apparently) greeting them at the entrance, the boats that brought them to the school, and you can’t seem to forget the ghosts lurking around here in every corner. Some of them are even  _ friendly _ , as ridiculous as that sounds.

Not in a billion years did she  _ ever  _ think her life would go this way.

If Raquel was good at anything, it would be her ability to find information. Talking with the other first-years on the way here made her understand she was a muggleborn, or whatever they call normal humans here. She grew up with no knowledge of the magical world, until one day her family was sent a letter stating she needed to go here. Raquel was fascinated with this whole other universe, and while she didn’t know much (yet), she felt as if she really belonged here, somehow.

There were 4 houses that Raquel was aware of. Gryffindor, the brave, courageous, Ravenclaw, the wise, intelligent, Hufflepuff, the house that seemed to accept ones with the pure of heart; and Slytherin, the malicious, cunning house. The minute she gathered this information, Raquel  _ knew  _ she had to be placed in Gryffindor. There was no other option in her mind; this house was where she was meant to be. Other students felt differently (“My family’s been in Ravenclaw for years, the Sorting Hat better put me there too!”), and maybe Raquel would live to regret her decision, but as of now, this is what she wanted.

Alas, it was time for the “Sorting”, and Raquel felt confident in her decision. As her name was called, she walked over to the Sorting Hat, its condition old and frayed, having to sort thousands of humans in its lifetime. It greeted her with a wide grin, however, and while she was still weirded out, at least the hat was friendly.

_ Talking hats, Raquel. How unbelievable.  _

As young as she was, Raquel grew up as a very rational person, not immersing herself into fairy tales and princesses as many other 11-year-old girls did. Instead, she read history books, learned taekwondo, and became fascinated with joining the police force.

Until all this, anyway.

Professor Mcgonagall (who Raquel knew as the strictest teacher, although you never know), gave her a tight smile, trying to give her the comfort she needed, and put the hat on her head. As soon as she did so, the hat started speaking.

_ “Raquel, isn’t it?” _

How was she supposed to respond to a  _ hat _ ?

_ “I can read what you’re thinking, you know.” _

_ “Oh, sorry about that.” She replied. How weird. _

_ “Don’t worry kid, you’ll only have to do this once. What house do you want to be placed in?” _

_ “Gryffindor.” _ _  
  
_

_ “Ooh, confident I see. Any second option?” _

_ “No, just Gryffindor.” _

_ “Thank you, Miss Murillo. Pleasure doing business with you.” _

At the top of its lungs, the hat shouted “GRYFFINDOR!” and just like that, Raquel was sorted, surprised the hat hadn't considered a second house. The Gryffindor table let out a round of applause for Raquel, who blushed at being put in the center of attention. She took a seat next to her new friend, Agata, the same person that explained most of what was going on to Raquel on the way to the castle. She had never been so thankful for another person.

“Hey!” Agata said as Raquel waved back to her. “I’m stuck with you now, huh?” She laughed while Raquel threw a napkin at her, overjoyed she had already made  _ one  _ friend in this massive crowd of students.

They turned their heads around to watch the rest of the students get sorted, their names being called out for everyone in the Great Hall to hear.

_ Silene Oliviera. _

_ Monica Gaztambide. _

_ Daniel Ramos. _

_ Mirko Dragic. _

_ Martin Berrote. _

_ Anibal Cortes. _

_ Sergio Marquina. _

The last one registered in Raquel’s head differently from the others. A small, scrawny, dark-haired boy with glasses walked up to the sorting hat, nervousness radiating from every line in his body. Raquel sympathized with him, feeling the exact same thing only a few minutes prior. Silence grasped the room, everyone eagerly anticipating the results.

Not wanting to disturb the quiet, Raquel whispered in Agata’s ear. “Who is that? Why did everyone stop talking?”   
  


Agata looked at her with mild surprise, then quickly composed herself. “That’s Sergio Marquina. His brother, Andres, was one of the former Death Eaters, until he bravely sacrificed himself to save everyone in the school. Guy’s a hero, but everyone is still scared of their family.” Agata’s words seemed to be accurate, as the students began whispering, casting dark looks into Sergio’s direction.

Now  _ that _ was quite rude.

Raquel still had many questions. What's a Death Eater? Why do people hate them? Who even  _ names  _ themselves Death Eaters? However, she didn't want to continue bothering Agata, so she kept quiet.

After a few seconds, the Sorting Hat shouted once more. “SLYTHERIN!”

“No surprise there.” Agata said.

“That was quick!” Raquel felt bad for the boy, especially since the second the hat shouted out his house, he looked down in embarrassment and quickly walked to his table, not saying a word to anyone else.

No one approached him either, and it made Raquel…. Almost  _ angry  _ in a way. Did anyone here have basic manners?

As the feast began, piles and piles of food magically appeared in front of each student. Agata hungrily dug in, but Raquel simply sat there, curious by the boy in the glasses. She silently swore to herself that if no one wanted to become friends with him, she would.

It was the _ least _ she could do, at any rate.

⚡

Sergio was going to be late to class.

In hindsight, he probably should’ve known. He had a horrible habit of being late to absolutely everything, ranging from birthday parties at his Aunt Nessa’s house to Portkeys.

He was even late to his brother’s funeral.

_ No time to think about that now,  _ Sergio thought. There were times to brood over your depressing, joyless childhood and this didn’t seem to be the moment to do so.

Fortunately, his next class was Charms, and Professor Flitwick was more than kind to him. Most of the teachers were. They probably felt such pity over this poor eleven-year-old boy, a boy whose brother sacrificed himself for the wizarding universe only a year prior. 

Sergio, was frankly sick of it.

However, he knew when to capitalize on his benefits, so he quickly ran to the classroom with his books, knowing that instead of scolding him, Professor Flitwick would more likely give him a piece of candy to the fact that he even showed up to class at all. He passed some 5th years on the way, Hufflepuffs who gave him dark looks as he ran by (Sergio was used to this by now and it’s only been a  _ week _ ), dodging statues of armor, talking paintings, until he finally got careless enough and bumped into another person.

_ “Oof!” _

He fell to the ground, while he distantly heard a thud of the same sort. Once he finally got to his senses, he sat up only to be met with the sight of a young girl whose brunette hair shined like the sun, with hazel eyes that stared right into his soul.

_ Beautiful,  _ Sergio thought.

The second his mind came up with that adjective, he looked down to the floor and blushed. That is  _ not  _ what you should be thinking about a girl you just bumped into.

“I’m sorry, are you okay?” The girl asked, already standing up and looking right at him. He fumbled with his fallen books and muttered a small  _ “I’m fine” _ to which she frowned.

“Let me help you with that.” She said.

Together, they picked up the rest of Sergio’s books, him blushing like an idiot whenever their hands brushed over the same one. After what felt like decades, they were all finally packed up, and Sergio gave her a smile of gratitude. She deserved at least that.

“Thank you.” He said shyly. 

“No problem,” She replied, and it was only then that Sergio recognized the house symbol on her robe. Handstitched onto the fabric, never to be washed away, was the Gryffindor logo, sitting proudly on her chest. 

That exact moment, Sergio realized two things.

  1. For god's sake, he _shouldn’t_ be thinking about her chest.
  2. She was a Gryffindor.



How she didn’t hate him yet, he would never know. Gryffindors absolutely  _ hated  _ the lot of Sergio’s family. “Death Eater”, they called him. Evil, attention seeker, mental, and disgusting were some of the many words Sergio has heard from them, and it’s only been a week.

A freaking  _ week _ .

So why didn’t she hate him?

After a moment of silence, she managed to speak up again. “You’re… you’re in Professor Flitwick’s class, aren’t you? Charms?”

“Uh, yeah.” Sergio didn’t manage to say anything further than that, in fear of saying something he would almost  _ certainly  _ regret in the future.

She reached a hand out for him to shake, joy flowing freely through her eyes. This girl was the definition of sunshine. “Raquel Murillo. So am I.”

He took her hand, pointedly ignoring the butterflies he felt in his stomach as he did so. “Sergio Marquina.”

They shook hands for a second, and Raquel gave him a look that he couldn’t seem to interpret. “Well, that settles it then. Walk with me?”

He couldn’t comprehend what she had said, and stood there like an idiot for two seconds until she looked at him quizzingly and began to walk away. Sergio could either accept her offer or leave, and as her figure became smaller and smaller, he knew that he might never get this chance again, so he might as well do it.   
  


“Wait!” He ran up to her, heart beating so fast he was almost panting, and Raquel gave him a small smirk, as if she knew he wouldn’t turn down her offer. They made their way to Professor Flitwick’s class (where all he did was give Sergio a smile and motioned for him to sit down). Raquel refused to sit with anyone else but him, shocking both the Gryffindor and Slytherin students, and even Peeves gave them a second glance when he came down to create chaos. Sergio never felt more thankful in his entire life, and the minute Charms was over, they walked together to their next class, Raquel talking about her potentially trying Quidditch, something she had never heard of before.

At the end of the day, Sergio realized he had made a new friend.


	2. Year 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raquel and Sergio make new friends, gain new enemies, and discover a new feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi my loves! We're back for a new chapter, filled with a ton of fluff and young, adorable Serquel!
> 
> Before you skip my notes to begin reading my update, I would just like to give out a small thank you to anyone who has been reading this so far. I know that this concept isn't something most people would be interested in, but to the ones who decided to pick this story up and stay with it till the end, thank you all! Much hugs are given to you <333
> 
> That's all I really needed to say. Happy reading!

**YEAR TWO**

“So after Mirko got stabbed by the Blast-Ended Skrewt-”

“What do you  _ mean  _ he got stabbed-”

“Don’t worry about it, Madam Pomfrey took care of him. Anyway, after he got stabbed, Arturo had the  _ nerve  _ to laugh at him! Like, how unbelievable is that!? Honestly, it’s a miracle you two are in the same house.”

Raquel and Sergio were gossiping in the library (well, Raquel was doing most of the gossiping herself, but that wasn’t the point), studying for their Wizarding Exams the following day. Second year has been tough on both of them, but when you have a best friend like Sergio, who never fails to make you study, Raquel thought she would manage just fine tomorrow with the current knowledge she has.

It’s been almost a year since Sergio bumped into Raquel that day, and from then on, they were inseparable. He taught her about the Wizarding World, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and the International Quidditch cup. Raquel was specifically interested in the pet owls most students had, and for her birthday, he got her a beautiful grey owl named Paula, meant to send each other letters when they came back home for the summer. Home seemed so  _ boring  _ now that Raquel knew the wonders of the universe fate had given her, and couldn’t have been more excited to return from Hogwarts the following semester. 

She didn’t spend the  _ whole  _ year with Sergio, however. The both of them made a couple of friends throughout the year, mainly being Monica and Mirko, Hufflepuffs with hearts of gold, and didn’t seem to judge Sergio’s past; Daniel and Silene, fellow Gryffindors who never understood the lesson; and Martin, a witty Ravenclaw who never passed a chance to make fun of Silene, usually with disastrous results. Together, the seven of them created a comfortable friend group inside the school, causing chaos until Sergio sighed and begged them not to. Raquel was glad that he finally got out of his shell quite a bit; but no matter who seemed to join them, his private thoughts were always expressed to her, and only to her.

Not that Raquel minded in the least. 

Her friendship with Sergio was different from the others, in the sense that she could tell him everything, and he wouldn’t judge her for it, unlike what the others may say. They were more open with one another than they were with anyone else, and his companionship gave her a sense of constant comfort, as ridiculous as that might seem.

But as always, there were slight consequences to being friends with the younger brother of a former Death Eater. Constant whispers in the hallways, rumors that Sergio could speak to snakes (that may have been the funniest yet, watching Martin force him to look into the eyes of a cobra and speak rubbish to it), and even Filch, the castle caretaker, muttering under his breath while they passed him in the hallways, Mrs. Norris treading sneakily behind him.

Raquel tried her best to console Sergio about this, but whenever it was brought up he tended to shy away and change the topic. Raquel’s curiosity built throughout the months, still not knowing what completely happened, but decided not to confide to him about this small fact. The last thing she wanted was him to run away from her too.

So she kept it casual, walking with him from the beginning of the day till nightfall, replying back to any student who  _ dared  _ to offend him, and entertaining him during class with her constant errors and mistakes. Raquel wasn’t the best student, she could admit, but he always ended up helping her with her progress, to the delight of the teachers when she performed at her very first Wizarding exam. The  _ one  _ thing she knew she could do and Sergio couldn’t, however, was Quidditch. The minute she held the handle of the broom during her first year, flying with them came as naturally to her as walking. Mcgonagall proudly mentioned that if she worked hard enough, entering the team in her second year wouldn’t be difficult whatsoever. She passed the tryouts with flying colors, and had been training with the team for over six months. Quidditch was her pride and joy.

Sergio, while wearing another house’s robes, still managed to cheer her on during her matches, to the displeasure of his fellow classmates. Arturo, a 2nd year Slytherin and the resident bully, never hesitated to call out this minor fact, but Sergio had learned not to care for a while now.

And now, as the 2nd year came and went, Raquel felt happier than she has ever been. 

_ Shut up, Raquel. You’re supposed to be studying. _

Oh, right.

“So casting  _ Lumos  _ means you wave with your wand, right? Or is that the tap?” She tried casting the spell with both her guesses, but it didn’t seem to work.

Sergio looked at her with mild frustration in his eyes, watching her mess up each and every attempt she made. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, and moved towards her to help.

To Raquel’s surprise, he grabbed her right hand, and made a light tapping motion with it. Magically, the light appeared from the tip of the wand, and while she was glad it worked, Sergio's closeness to her was more of what she was focusing on at the moment.

For a few seconds, they stayed in that position, watching the light together. Only then did Raquel come to her senses, and wretched herself away from Sergio. 

“I’m so sorry-” Sergio began.

“No, it’s fine. You were trying to help.” They stared at each other, and Raquel felt as if she was going to explode if it became any more awkward. 

The gods seemed to pity her, because in the nick of time, Madam Pince interrupted their private studying session with another scolding about how it was too late in the evening to continue working, and screamed at them until Raquel and Sergio ran out of the library with their books, their laughter echoing through the hallways.

Unknown to Raquel, they both slept late that night, too caught up thinking about what happened in the library to possibly doze off into a peaceful slumber. When they woke up the next morning to have breakfast before the exams, Raquel could only hope Sergio didn’t notice the dreadful eyebags beginning to form, or the fact that whenever he seemed to move closer to her now, butterflies began to form in her stomach.

She instead decided to ignore it.  _ That’s what friends do. _

⚡

“Wizards do not fly,” Professor Mcgonagall said in one of their very first classes. “They may use other magical objects to fly, but in no way can a wizard fly by themselves.”

Unfortunately, Raquel had tried and tested that theory, and their house head was very much correct. But when you had a boom between your legs and were zooming between the clouds, that didn’t matter a whole lot.

It was the final Quidditch game of the year, with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw going head to head for the championship. A lot was riding on Raquel for this one; it was rare in the first place for a 2nd year to join the house Quidditch team, and even rarer to see one win the championship. But after almost two years of placing at 2nd among the houses, the Gryffindors were determined to win, and Raquel was not about to compromise that.

“Ramos, pass it over!” She shouts. Daniel, with a smile, confidently passes the Quaffle over to her and she shoots it into the opposing goal with ease. Another round of cheers came from the Gryffindor side, while the Ravenclaws sigh heavily. 

_ Just a little bit more, Raquel. 100 points. You can do this. _

“ _ The Golden Snitch has now been released! _ ” Came the announcement from the announcer booth. Martin, who had been selected to lead the announcer booth for the final game, seemed to very much enjoy the Quidditch players getting pushed around.

Gasps came out from the audience below, while Raquel looked in panic for their seeker, Suarez. Once he spotted the snitch, however, it was easy enough from there, so she directed her attention to the quaffle instead, which was still flying. 

“ _ And Murrilo now has her eyes set on the quaffle, ready to score another goal, but watch out! Roman is swerving near her-” _

Before she even knew it, Arturo Roman bumped into her with a force that could easily bring any grown man to his feet, and Raquel fell from her broom, so slowly that she could swear the world stopped moving.

_ Is this what dying feels like? _

She landed on the ground with a thud, and every part of her body ached with pain. She could distinctly hear some shouting, an announcement that Suarez captured the snitch, that they had won….

Raquel could barely care at the time. Everything hurt too much.

Then, she saw a body walking towards her. All the Quidditch players were already on the ground, but this person was in robes, it couldn’t have been…

_ Sergio _ .

Frighteningly, she realized that he wasn’t walking towards her, but a very rigid Arturo, who looked almost proud of what he did. At this point, her vision was too blurry to see clearly, but as the world faded to black, she heard the sound of a punch, Arturo’s groans, and Professor Slughorn shouting at Sergio to stop.

⚡

The next time Raquel woke up, she was in the hospital wing, with Madam Pomfrey pacing in front her.

“ _ Stupid kids, always roughhousing, never play fair… _ ” She only paused when she noticed that Raquel had woken up, and let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank god, Raquel. I thought you were dead.”

“Believe me, Madam Pomfrey, so did I.” Raquel tried moving her arm until a sharp stab of pain went through her, making her groan.

“I had to grow your bones back, Raquel. Please refrain from moving for a while.” Suddenly, the hospital door flew open.

“Is she awake?”

Raquel looked to her right to find none other than Sergio, who was somehow in worse shape than she was. Multiple bruises all over his body, a scratch on his right arm, and a purple eye that was slowly (if not barely) recovering.

“ _ Sergio _ ! What happened to you?”

He sighed, then walked over to her and sat on her chair next to her hospital bed.

“After you fell, I may have went down to the field and beat up Arturo.”   
  


“What!? Sergio, you can get detention for that-”

  
“Yeah, I did. Mcgonagall lectured me for almost two hours.” He grinned. “Still worth it.”

“What- why? Why did you do it?”

“He did it to you on purpose.” Sergio shook his head. “I don’t understand how anyone could do that, and I wasn’t about to let that slide.

Raquel’s heart bled for him. After all, he did get hurt for  _ her _ , and that action meant so much to her that she couldn’t even put it in words. How was he so sweet? What did she do to deserve him?   
  


So instead, with all the strength in her still-recovering body, she took his hand and squeezed it.

“ _ Thank you, Sergio _ .”

They stayed like that for a while, until he had to go to his next class, but made sure to visit every break he had. He kept her entertained, something she usually did for him, but the tables were now turned.

_ God _ , she didn’t know what she did in a past life to deserve him. 

She’s never had a better friend.

_ ⚡ _

After what felt like  _ decades _ , the school year was finally over. What Sergio planned to do once he got onto the train was buy a few chocolate frogs, eat one or two, and sleep for the rest of the trip. He fit all his things into the trunk in record speed (the last thing he wanted was a bad spot on the train), and went upstairs with the other Slytherins to catch the train going home. To his delight, Raquel was out there waiting amongst the crowd, and the second she spotted him, he saw her eyes light up in response.

They ran towards each other, determined to not lose sight of the other person.

To Sergio’s surprise, Raquel wrapped him into a tight hug, her head tucked into the crook of his neck. His first instinct was to push her away, but once he could properly think again, he relaxed into the hug, getting a few glances from his fellow schoolmates.

_ God,  _ how he dreamed of this.

She let go, and neither of them spoke for a few moments.

“What was that for?” Sergio asked with a small smile, not wanting to provoke her about that sudden change of greeting.

Raquel looked down at the floor and blushed, fumbling with the end of her robe. “We won’t be seeing each other for a few months. I’m gonna miss you.”

_ Oh. _

“I’ll miss you too.” Sergio replied, to his own surprise. She looked back up at that, a grin forming on her face, and she lightly punched him on the shoulder.

“Better not miss me too much.” He chucked at that, deciding to change the topic before anything else happened. Sergio wasn’t sure if he was ready for that conversation. "I'm still sending you letters."

“Same spot on the train?” he asked. Last year on the ride home, Sergio and Raquel discovered a hidden train compartment, hidden towards the back. The snack lady never visited it, making them wonder if the staff knew it existed at all, but it made for a very private and comfortable space, so they vowed from then on it was the only place they would stay, along with their other friends.

“Um…” Raquel looked towards some other Gryffindors, all of which were looking at her expectantly with frowns on their faces. She looked back towards Sergio, an apologetic smile on her face. “Is it okay if I join you after a few minutes?”

“I-” Sergio’s sentence was cut off by a boy walking towards the both of them, a confident smirk on his face as if he was going to save Raquel from a burning building. He looked at Sergio up and down, seemingly disgusted by him.

“Raquel, is this guy bothering you?”

“Oh- oh no, he isn’t. This is Sergio, my friend.” The boy gave her a look of disbelief, then seemed to compose himself and turned towards Sergio and held out a hand for him to shake. 

“Alberto Vicuna. Nice to meet you.” Although he did say that, Sergio knew that Alberto meant the exact opposite of what he said. 

“We’ll be boarding the train soon. You still joining us?” Alberto asked, giving Raquel a charismatic smile that would’ve made Sergio laugh had he not been a polite person. Instead, he watched in silent pain as Raquel gave him a cheerful nod, and Alberto walked back to his original group of friends.

An awkward silence settled over them once more. “So…” Sergio began. “I’ll wait for you there?”

“Yeah…. Yeah.” Raquel gave him another apologetic smile, and Sergio nodded back, trying to tell her he understood, even if what he was feeling inside was the complete opposite.

As the train arrived, he watched her walk away with her friends, and while he tried his best to focus on his trunks, the chocolate frogs he would get, and Bella, his owl, all he could think of was the fact that he was here, alone, while she was with other people. With  _ Alberto _ .

_ She can have other friends, you know. _

Sure she could. But no matter how much he agreed with this, nothing would ever change the sinking feeling in his heart when she boarded the train with her other friends, and not him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Alberto is very much present in this story! Don't worry, he'll get what he deserves eventually ;)


	3. Year 3, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Third year opens up new opportunities for Raquel and Sergio, as they try their best to navigate distance, popularity, and potential romance. As the Yule Ball comes around the corner, will they finally take the plunge?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lovely readers!
> 
> First off, I would like to apologize for not updating last week. As this story is nearly finished in the drafts, I have navigated my attention to other things, and it has caused me to nearly forget I was posting these chapters at all. But do not worry, because I am back, and hopefully a lot more attentive than I was the week before.
> 
> Secondly, this small fic has a song! Well, not a self-made song, but it was my inspiration for a lot of this fic, and I want to share it with you all. The song is Star (Voice English Ver.) by the girl group LOONA, and I personally like to think it captures a lot of the joy, longing, and beautiful soulmatisim (if that is even a word) in this fic. You don't have to listen to it, but it does put a smile on your face imagining Serquel to it!
> 
> And lastly (this may just be me, I am not completely sure), I do hope that we get more serquel/alvitz content soon. I feel like our small fandom has filtered out into different places because of the lack of content from the two of them, and it seriously hurts my heart that Vancouver Media/Netflix does not even try to give us anything. I know many people that give their all to these two, and it sucks that we aren't getting anything in return. Hopefully the problem will be fixed, but for now, enjoy the chapter!

**YEAR THREE**

“Remember kids, I need your permission slips before you can go out. Anyone who doesn’t has to stay inside!” McGonagall’s voice echoed through the room, announcing the same reminder every five minutes, and while Raquel loved the head of her house, the professor's voice was starting to give her a headache.

“Ready?” She turned over to Sergio, who had the biggest grin on his face. No one seemed to be more excited as he was to go on this trip.

It was now Raquel’s third year in Hogwarts, and while the piles of work slowly began to stack up, the word count on their essays getting longer, Raquel couldn’t even  _ seem  _ to be stressed. These past three years have been the happiest of her life, finally knowing what she was truly meant to be. She no longer has that “distinct” muggleborn look (Agata gave her an approving nod at the beginning of the year to confirm this), and with summers spent exchanging letters with Sergio, going to amusement parks, and learning Spanish, there truly was nothing to complain about.

The  _ real  _ highlight of being a third-year however, was to finally be allowed to take those weekly trips to Hogsmeade. Sergio excitedly told her about it in their first year, stating that you could find anything you wanted in the village; from new school supplies to butterbeers at The Three Broomsticks. This characteristic was something Raquel never usually found in Sergio; her knowing for a  _ fact  _ that he prefers to stay inside and study instead of going out and socializing. She, however, decided not to question it, being extremely curious about the place herself. So over the summer, she asked (practically begged) her parents to sign the permission slip (which they did), and after packing extra clothes inside her trunk to deal with the cold, she was ready to visit Hogsmeade.

Each of the third-years lined up one by one, with Professor McGonagall in front to oversee and make sure that no one faked their signatures. (It seemed to have been done a lot in the past few years; handwriting spells were very common). Silene excitedly went over to Raquel and Sergio, punching his arm in the process.

“Ow!” Sergio exclaimed. “What was that for?”

“You didn’t save us a spot in the line, you idiots.” Martin said, with Daniel, Mirko, and Monica right behind him.

“Why didn’t you punch Raquel?”

“Because we love Raquel. Now let us join you.” Sergio let out a tired sigh, clearly exhausted of the group’s antics by now, and he moved over with Raquel to allow the others to join them in their spot, to the displeasure of other students in line behind them. Raquel internally giggled, happy that Sergio was getting more comfortable with other people each passing day.

After a few minutes, they got to the front, and McGonagall looked over at them with a tight-lipped frown. Raquel was absolutely  _ terrified  _ of that woman. 

She got their slips, looked at them with one eye against the light, cast a few spells on it, and after a few seconds, she let them exit the school. The first thing Raquel noticed was the temperature, and how cold it seemed to be. She clearly didn’t wear enough layers. 

They walked into the village, a cute little town square serving as the entrance, and while all the buildings looked fascinating and she couldn’t wait to go into all of them, there was nothing else she could focus on but the chattering of her teeth, and how her body was slightly shaking.

Fortunately, Sergio, who was still walking beside her, started to take notice, and he took Raquel’s hands inside his, already knowing she was cold. No words were needed between the both of them. 

Before Raquel even knew it, his coat was placed over her shoulders, still managing to caress her arms in the process.

"What about you?" Raquel asked.

Sergio gave her a smile. "I've been dealing with these winters since I was born. I'll be fine."

Raquel felt like a child, having needed Sergio to take care of her like this, but she also basked in his touch; they haven’t been this close together since their hug on the train last year. Finally warm enough to function again, Raquel murmured out a quiet  _ “thank you”  _ to which Sergio just smiled at, as they continued their journey into the village. Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop came into light, to which Sergio and Raquel excused themselves from the group to get new quills (Sergio never failed to write extremely long essays, and Raquel usually copied from him), and Zonko’s Joke Shop, where Daniel came out with two Dungbombs and a Hiccup Sweet.

“I can’t  _ wait  _ to use these on Monica,” he whispers to Silene.

At last, the gang made their way to The Three Broomsticks, which was the major hotspot for all Hogwarts students. A mix of third, fifth, and seventh years crowded the building, but they somehow still managed to have space for everyone coming in. Raquel and the others reserved a long table in the corner of the shop, while Sergio ordered everyone’s drinks.

When he came back, Raquel discreetly noticed that the bill placed on the tray had already been paid for. He passed their drinks to everyone, mugs of butterbeer leaking out of the cups, and sat down without any care in the world.

“Where’s our bill?” She asked.

He waved her away. “Don’t worry about it.”

Almost instantly, there were words of protest being thrown out from the entire table, clearly mad about what Sergio said.

“Sergio, that was a lot of money! Come on, we’ll pay you all back-” There were voices of agreement, while Martin sat there and sipped his drink, to everyone’s disgust.

“What?” He said while they were looking at him. “It’s free drinks!”

After an argument that spanned across 30 minutes, Sergio finally got them to stop protesting, on the promise that they would pay for his drinks next time. Throughout the whole thing, Raquel couldn’t stop thinking about how sweet of a person he is.

If that wasn’t a warning sign, Raquel didn’t know what was.

But as all things related to  _ potentially _ liking Sergio, she kept her mouth shut, not saying a word. He wouldn’t be comfortable with it, and it would take a huge toll on their friendship. If only he liked her back-

As if  _ that _ would ever happen. Raquel really needed to stop messing with herself.

So instead, she resorted to silently pining over him, hoping that she would get over it; she was only thirteen after all, there would probably be other men, men that she would like more than Sergio.

So she waited. But no matter what she did, it never seemed to come.

⚡

Something had changed.

Sergio didn’t know what it was. In fact, it was almost impossible to detect it. He had the same routine every single day. Wake up, have a shower, walk with Raquel to class-

Oh.  _ That’s it. _

Raquel didn’t walk with him to class.

Now, Sergio didn’t  _ need  _ Raquel to walk with him to class. He wasn’t obsessed with her (although his heart would answer differently), and he could walk by himself perfectly fine, thank you very much.

But from the day that they first met, she has never missed the walk with him. Which prompted Sergio to wonder exactly what the  _ hell  _ was going on. She wouldn’t just miss it for no reason. There had to be an explanation of some sort.

He raced to the Herbology greenhouse, where he was met with the sight of Professor Sprout giving him a small wave, to which he politely smiled before turning his head to the other students. And there she was.

She was with  _ him _ .

There were no words to accurately describe how much Sergio hated Alberto. He was the absolute opposite of anything Sergio was. He constantly badgered Raquel whenever they were together, pointedly ignoring Sergio who was right beside her, and made sure he was aware of it. He made fun of the teachers after class, was condescendingly rude towards everyone who wasn’t in his circle of friends, and the only reason he ever got respect around here was because his dad, Robert Vicuña, was a hotshot Quidditch Player.

Sergio couldn’t care less. As far as he knew, his dad was ugly and so was he.

So watching Raquel, with all her brightness and joy, talking to a boy who’s nicest gesture was to throw his homework into a trash can, made Sergio silently burn with fury.

He just wanted to protect her, is all.

But he knew Raquel very well, (much more than that Alberto guy would ever know), and she was more than capable of handling horrible people herself, so he let it go. He would simply wait for Alberto to say something stupid, and that relationship would dissapear as fast as it came. Raquel could truly hurt someone if necessary, a lot more than he could.

So instead of making a big deal about it, he sat down on his table, waited for Raquel to join him, with that bright, bubbly personality of hers. Naturally, she made her way to his table, nothing between both of them changed, and Sergio once again was reassured; she didn’t forget about him.

Days pass by, and he begins to realize that Alberto wasn’t the only one looking to take up her time and attention. Girls squeezed themself between the both of them to chat with Raquel about potential Quidditch uniform changes, boys tripped over their own feet to nervously ask her a question, Sergio staring at them, almost  _ pleading  _ for them to go away.

After a month of these new, unprecedented changes, Sergio realized that Raquel wasn’t just a random third-year to most people anymore. She was, for lack of a better word,  _ popular _ . Days with just the two of them became less common, and more people slowly began talking to her, becoming friends with her, while he quietly sat in the background, occasionally being used as a ranting buddy by Agata and Silene. He couldn’t blame anyone, he really couldn’t. Raquel was simply a ray of sunshine wherever she went, and people would naturally be attracted to that. It was the reason he became so infatuated with her in the first place.

Another day of this passed by, and Sergio found himself sitting on a random stairwell of the castle, reading a book to calm his thoughts down. Nearly-Headless Nick passed him a few times, occasionally checking if he was okay by himself, to which Sergio answered with a nod. After a few more moments of peace, he heard a thud coming from one of the hallways, a shadow slowly making its way closer to him.

Now  _ that  _ wasn’t good. Sergio wouldn’t know what to do if Filch caught him.

The said shadow finally came into light, and with a sigh of relief, Sergio realized it was just Raquel, making small steps to ensure she wasn’t caught. When she saw him, her eyes lit up, and made her way to sit beside him on the staircase, her head casually leaning against his shoulder.

“Whatcha doing?” 

He held up the book in her face. “I wonder,” he said sarcastically. 

She lightly punched him in the shoulder, a grin forming on her face.  _ This _ is what Sergio missed.

“Why did you come here?” He asked.

“I haven’t seen you enough in a few days. This is my way of making up for it.” She gave him a smile, and Sergio stared at her in surprise. It’s like she  _ knew _ .

“Wanna chat with the paintings downstairs? I heard the Glass sisters have something on Professor Slughorn’s grading system.” Laughing, he grabbed her hand, and they made their way downstairs, getting in trouble with Professor Mcgonagall shortly afterwards.

Sergio couldn’t seem to care. As long as he had these moments with her, he always knew that they would make their way back to each other, regardless of anything.

And that knowledge stuck with him for years to come.

⚡

“So, what’s our dress theme for the ball?”

“Silene, we aren’t even  _ invited  _ to the ball-”

“Just search for any fourth-year guy around here! No one says no to you anyway.” Agata suddenly interrupted.

“Can we please get back to the dress theme part?” Monica asked, always the constant peacemaker between the girls.

The four girls were talking about the Yule Ball, an event that united the three wizarding schools for decades and decades. Unfortunately, the Triwizard Tournament that usually accompanied it was canceled a couple of years ago due to unsafe circumstances (Raquel heard something about a dragon that roasted a student alive, but decided not to press on it), but the Yule Ball still continued despite the lack of the competition.

There was only one problem with this. Only fourth-years and above were allowed to attend the ball, unless the lower years could somehow find an older date to bring them. This resulted in a lot of date proposals in between classes, and third-years crying in the hallways because they couldn’t find a date, seemed to become a regular occurrence. 

“We could do black and white! I dibs on black, okay?” Silene suddenly said, and the other girls seemed to agree with her.

“Me and Silene will wear black, while Agata and Monica wear white, all with gold accents. Deal?” At last, they finally agreed on something. Just in time, Professor Slughorn’s class began, and they sat down in their respective seats, dreaming of the gowns they would buy.

Raquel  _ really _ wanted to attend the ball, considering that this was the only year she could do it before she graduated. The only problem is, she had no idea which fourth-year to ask. All of them were quite scary, and while they knew her, they didn’t know her well enough for her to be their  _ date _ .

She told Sergio all this during dinner in the great hall, and while she had the slight feeling he wasn’t really paying attention, she continued on nonetheless. After 15 minutes of going through a list of all the fourth-year boys who weren’t taken, he finally closed his book and set his eyes on her.

“Why is this so important, exactly?”

“Because!! Sergio, this is the  _ only  _ year we’ll be able to do this. When the next Yule Ball happens, we’ll be one year fresh out of Hogwarts, and all our chances would’ve been lost.”

“Doesn’t exactly sound like my type of thing.” Raquel was ready to rip his hair out.

“ _ Sergio _ , I’m being serious. What do I do?” He sighed, and was lost in thought for a moment, trying to think of a solution to her problem.

“Well, all the boys you mentioned are only from Hogwarts. What about the ones from Durmstrang? They arrived yesterday.” 

She gasped in shock, wanting to scold herself for not thinking of that very same idea earlier. 

“That’s a great idea! Oh my god Sergio,  _ thank you _ .” she turned to him and gave him a hug, and to Raquel’s delight, one to which he responded to.

Mid-hug, Raquel realized something, and let go. “What about you?”

“What about me?”   
  


“Who are you bringing?” Raquel tried her best to be as discreet as possible with that question, hoping Sergio didn’t see her hidden intentions.

He blushed. “I won’t be attending. Too many other things to do.” She let out a scoff at that, not believing anything this guy said.

“Sure you do. You just don’t wanna attend and socialize, don’t you?”   
  


He looked down at his food, and Raquel knew she had won. 

“And dance. I  _ really  _ don’t want to dance.” She let out a laugh at that, the image of Sergio trying to match the rhythm of the song was simply too much for her.

“Fine. But you owe me one for not being there.” He gaped at her, and then gave up and nodded, knowing there was no use in arguing Raquel for this one. They ate the rest of their dinner in peace, occasionally still making fun of the way Durmstrang arrived in their dirty ship.

The next day, Raquel and Sergio were walking to Divination (Which Raquel still thought of as the most useless subject; they never learned anything), when Professor Slughorn approached them, a wide grin on his face.

“Marquina! Nice to bump into you today. And who’s this young lady?”

“Oh, um, hi Professor. This is Raquel Murrilo, a close friend of mine.” Slughorn looked her up and down, clearly not convinced, then turned back to Sergio.

“So! Marquina. As you know, the Yule Ball is coming up. Are you going?”

Sergio stuttered. “N-no, sir. I’m only in my third year.”

Slughorn looked at him in disbelief. “You’re part of the Slug Club, my boy! Of course you can go!” At the mention of the “Slug Club” Sergio’s blush went even deeper, and he was now looking at the floor.

Raquel didn’t really understand what was happening. 

“Oh, okay. Thank you, Professor.” Slughorn seemed satisfied with that answer, probably knowing the limit of Sergio’s socializing skills, and left the two friends on their own once more.

“So,” Raquel turned to face him. “You  _ can  _ attend the ball now.”

“Nope. It means I have to.” Sergio said sheepishly. “If it’s under the Slug Club, it means you’re practically required to attend.

That brought up another question in Raquel’s mind. “What’s the Slug Club?”

He gave a long sigh. “That, I’ll tell you during class.” And they set off for Divination once more, Raquel secretly delighted that he had to come, after all.

⚡

Now came the difficult part. While Raquel was mostly an extrovert (this could be confirmed by at least half her year, no one could deny it), she felt extremely nervous walking up to the group of 5th year Durmstrang boys that clustered in the corner of the Hogwarts hallways. Her sight was set on a boy named Angel Rubio, learning from fellow classmates that he was one of the only ones left that didn’t have a date. She stood on the opposite side of the hallway, debating if this was  _ really  _ a good idea. She weighed her options earlier this morning, and decided rather than asking an immature 4th year boy, or asking  _ Sergio _ -

No. She wouldn’t even try going there.

So with all the determination she could possibly muster, she bravely made her way over to the Durmstrang boys. Her first tactic was to let out a small cough, to grab their attention (which worked, surprisingly) and when they parted from their circle, Raquel turned to face Angel, a bright smile on her face. The boy was stunned.

“Angel Rubio, wasn’t it?”

The rest of the boys looked at him in surprise, while Angel himself looked like he wanted to pee his pants.

“Y-yeah, yeah that’s me.”

“Would you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?”

She said it loud enough to grab the attention of the whole hallway, which made it even  _ harder  _ for Angel to (possibly) decline. The other boys started laughing, elbowing Angel, and only after two minutes of everyone staring at them, did he finally have an answer.

“Uh, sure.” She didn’t know if he was _ enthusiastic _ about it, per say, but at least he had an answer.

“Great!” Raquel answered. “Pick me up in the Gryffindor common room at 6pm. Don’t be late.” She gave him a wink and one last smile, and only when she exited the hallway did the reactions commence. The other Durmstrang boys let out a guffaw, and Angel blushed brightly as he tried to reassure them that  _ no _ , he didn’t bribe her to do that. The other Hogwarts students were simply stunned.

Specifically, Sergio, who was quietly observing at the end of the hallway.

⚡

“Oh my goodness, RAQUEL!” Silene exclaimed as she came out of the bathroom, dress and makeup fully done. Raquel had the  _ very  _ nice advantage of her mom being a wedding dress designer, so her black, full length mermaid gown with a detachable skirt and jeweled belt was fit to absolute perfection. Even Raquel couldn’t deny it. She looked  _ stunning _ . 

Agata came out of the second bathroom, leading to more excited screams between Silene and Raquel. Her dress matched Raquel’s beautifully, having a v-neck cut on the front leading to a full volume skirt, which was in white. Silene was dressed already, in a tight fitting black gown with a sweetheart neckline, and Raquel thought that they all matched together pretty well, for four girls who crammed their dresses in two weeks. 

“Come on, let’s get going! You know Monica will kill us if we arrive late.” Trying their best to run in heels, they made their way down to the common room, where Daniel was waiting for them. You could visibly see him nervous, playing with the cuff lapels on his sleeves of his jacket and fixing his tie every five seconds.

“Oh, stop it Daniel,” Agata said as she walked over to him to fix his tie one last time. “It’s  _ Monica _ . She’s the sweetest person to ever exist. You’ll be fine!”   
  


“I know, I know, but what if I screw it up? Our friendship won’t be the same after.” This sentence seemed to have made Daniel even more anxious, and he started pacing around the room while the three girls tried comforting him.

Raquel sympathized with him, knowing  _ exactly  _ what it felt like to feel that way, because that was what was currently happening to her and Sergio.

_ Well, at least Daniel had the balls to do something about it,  _ she thought. Raquel could never.

After a 5 minute encouragement session coming from the girls, Daniel finally seemed calm enough to head out, and they made their way from the common room to the Great Hall. It had been completely transformed for the event, the two other schools helping out as well. Moving ice statues took up every corner, small pixies flew through the air, mischievously dropping bits of snow on the unsuspecting students, and the floor turned into a walkable ice rink, the walls ice blue, making it seem like the perfect winter wonderland.

The three girls (and Daniel) pushed their way into the crowd of students, trying to find their fellow friends. They managed to find Monica and Mirko right away, with Daniel looking as if he was going to combust seeing her in that off-shoulder, fairy-like white dress she was wearing. The pair made their way onto the dance floor, while Mirko helped them search for Martin, who surprisingly asked Mirko for a dance.

The three girls didn’t even try to question what was happening there.

At last, Agata and Silene found their respective dates, a curly-haired boy with a bright smile and a tall, buff sixth-year that Raquel seemed to recognize. They were introduced to her as Anibal and Bogota, and both boys graciously led the girls somewhere else which left Raquel, alone.

She searched high and low for her date, who told her yesterday that he couldn’t pick her up (Raquel thought it was rather rude of him until he explained that they weren’t allowed to visit the common rooms), and after minutes of searching, she still couldn’t find him.

At last, she spotted his silhouette, talking to some boys by the punch bowl. She made her way over to him, but bumped into someone in the process.

“Oh my god, I am so so sorry-” She came back to her senses, looking up to find  _ that _ familiar face, the face she has been trying not to think about the entire time she was at this ball.

_ Sergio. _


	4. Year 3, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Yule Ball comes to a close, and the Christmas season brings festivity, tradition, and surprise to a young Sergio and Raquel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi my loves!
> 
> Yes, I know, you might be asking yourself: why in the world did I decide to release a chapter in the middle of the week? I'm currently asking myself the same thing as I am writing these notes, but since I forgot to update two weeks ago and multiple readers have been curious about the ending of the Yule Ball, I figured I might as well give you something to get your mind off a hard week at work. It's nothing special, but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless! The story gets a lot more interesting from here on out.
> 
> A small shoutout to Rheana, my lovely cheerleader, and Nicole, who never fails to be there for me. Love you both to death, and I'm so excited to see your reactions to this chapter!
> 
> Have an amazing night, everyone!

_ Twenty-four hours earlier _

“Have you guys seen Raquel?” Sergio asked, needing desperately to talk to her about something. The Yule Ball was tomorrow, and with every passing hour it got nearer, with Sergio slowly starting to panic. He needed her help.

“She went back to the common room a few minutes ago, maybe you’ll find her there?” Mirko replied, Martin and Daniel agreeing with him. They were in the castle garden, Martin trying to teach the other boys how to play Gobstones, with no actual progress being made. 

“Thanks.” Sergio tried his best to walk as fast as he could to the Gryffindor common room without alerting any teachers, although he did see Professor Mcgonagall smirk at him multiple times in the hallways when she thought he wasn’t looking. After climbing staircase after staircase, he finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who was looking into her vanity when she arrived.

He let out a small cough, and she looked at him with mild surprise.

“You aren’t a Gryffindor student.”

“Well, yes, but I need to see Raquel Murillo and-”

“Darling, I simply  _ can’t _ let you in without the password. You’ll have to wait for someone to come out.”

He sighed, then sat down waiting in the corner, hoping that  _ someone  _ would decide to leave the room soon enough. Thankfully, it took less than a minute for that to happen, and Raquel herself climbed out of the hole, looking slightly exhausted. He scrambled up to meet her, and when he did, she didn’t seem all that excited to see him. In fact, it looked like the last thing she wanted.

“Sergio?”

“Hey, I really need your help-”

“You shouldn’t be here right now.”  _ What? _

The next thing he knew, a whole crowd of Gryffindor students came through the hole Raquel had previously been through, and started congratulating the both of them. Daniel patted him on the back with a “Good for you!” and Silene hugged Raquel tightly, saying they should’ve gotten together earlier.

If Sergio wasn’t confused before, he almost  _ definitely  _ was now.

“Guys, guys-” Raquel finally managed to respond after the original cheers had died down. “He didn’t ask me.” That made everyone pause, and once they realized they had  _ badly  _ misread the situation, they slowly went back inside the common room, multiple apologies being given to the pair.

There was silence for a few minutes.

“I- I’m sorry- what did they mean by that?” He finally gathered a question to ask her, his brain still not fully understanding what just happened.  _ Congratulations _ ?  _ Getting together _ ? What could they possibly mean by-

No.  _ No way _ . There’s no way they could’ve gone there.

Raquel blushed, looked at the floor, and Sergio knew immediately that something was up.

“It- it was just an assumption. After I told them you were invited to the ball because of Professor Slughorn, they just immediately thought you would ask me, I mean I didn’t even orchestrate anything they just made a bet on when you would do it and when you came everyone was so happy and they were saying it’s a miracle we haven’t gotten together yet and-” Raquel was full on blabbering now, and while Sergio  _ heard  _ what she said, the thought of it was so incomprehensible that he couldn’t even try imagining it.

Him asking her to the Yule Ball. Raquel accepting. They attend together, they dance, she laughs about him stepping on her feet, they eat dinner with the others, they would actually end up  _ enjoying  _ the night, he would bring her back to the common room, she might’ve even  _ kissed _ him-

Even in all of Sergio’s dreams about her, none of them could’ve possibly compared to what was going on through his head through this moment.

“Oh.” It was all he could manage to say.

“Sergio,” she began, taking his hand. “They were just fooling around. It was just a joke, okay? I’m sorry if they made you feel uncomfortable.” 

Uncomfortable? More like  _ amazed _ . 

But he couldn’t tell her that.

“Raquel, it’s fine, really. Don’t worry about it.” He did his best to give her a reassuring smile, consecutively trying to hide all the feelings that were threatening to spill over the surface. 

“Goodnight, Raquel.” He left her with one last smile and a wave, and he was almost about to reach the end of the hallway before she called out to him one last time.

“Sergio?” 

He turned around to see her. “Yeah?”

“You know, if you asked, I would’ve said yes.” Then it was her turn to give him a smile and a wave, and just like that, she went back into the common room once more, the moonlight shining over where she once stood.

⚡

She was beautiful.

Of course, that was Sergio’s first thought whenever he saw her, but tonight seemed to empathize that even further. Her hair, a half-ponytail, framed her face in such an…  _ ethereal  _ way, and the dress she was wearing fit her to perfection. 

They stared at each other, either side not wanting to initiate conversation, scared at what might happen if they did. The ball resumed normally, everyone still having fun, but the minute he locked eyes with her, time just seemed to take a pause. He could either chicken out, as he always did, or he could actually  _ do  _ something this time. And after what she said yesterday, he figured she wanted that as well.

He began to approach her, wanting to apologize, but before he ever got the chance, _Angel_ , that stupid Durmstrang boy, got there faster than he did. She quickly acknowledged him, a polite, cheerful smile on her face, and he took a bow and kissed her hand, and she _giggled_. 

_ Giggled.  _

Sergio was mortified. He wanted to die right then and there.

Why in the  _ hell  _ did he ever give Raquel this idea?   
  


Angel led her to the dance floor, and they softly swayed together, Sergio’s self-pity rising every second she spent dancing with him. He put in his best effort to look at anything but them; Dumbledore’s sparkly silver robes made exactly for the occasion, Professor Sprout in a dress that looked exactly like her regular teacher’s uniform but longer, Hagrid’s large figure trying to blend in with the other teachers, and Peeves, who somehow managed to dress up for the ball as well. 

But no matter what he did, his gaze always eventually led back to her.  _ There was no stopping it _ , Sergio knew by now. The world could potentially end and his eyes would still forever be placed on her.

On Raquel.

You could visibly see the awkwardness forming between the two, Raquel trying her best to leave the dance floor while Angel kept asking her to stay.

Sergio, as of the moment,  _ desperately  _ wanted to find a Quidditch Beater, hit Angel in the head with said Beater, and tell him to leave Raquel the hell alone. 

_ But hey,  _ he thought. At least he wasn't Alberto.

Eventually, after half an hour, Sergio couldn't take it anymore, and walked up to both of them.

"Pardon me, please," He began as he interrupted the two. "Raquel, would you do the honor of dancing with me?"

Her jaw was wide open, and Sergio was quite proud of himself for it. He never managed to shock her like that.

"I, um," She looked at Angel, who shrugged. "Sure."

He led her away from him (finally), and as they began dancing, the song changed to a slower pace, setting a more romantic tone to the evening.

"Hey," Raquel whispered in his ear as they began swaying together, her arms around his neck. "Thank you for that. The guy was starting to bore me to death."

"That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea."

They chuckled at that, and after, settled into a comfortable silence as the song went on, all students beginning to move to the dance floor. Sergio caught the eye of both Silene and Martin, who gave him knowing winks as they danced beside each other. 

A couple of years ago, Sergio would've never imagined himself doing this. But as she came into his life, so full of happiness, joy, and fulfillment, so much of his perspective has changed. He could only thank the wizarding gods that they bumped into each other in the hallway that day.

Sergio desperately wanted to say something, wanting to apologize for  _ not  _ asking her, when she so clearly gave the hint, and the fact that when he did realize it, he wasn't man enough to do anything about it. She deserved better. He knew that.

Finally, after 15 minutes of silently dancing. He began to speak. "Raquel-"

"No." She put a finger to his lips, and he immediately shut up. "I know what you're about to do, and you better not even  _ think  _ of apologizing. Sergio, it's okay. It really is."

"I didn't know you wanted me to ask-"

"I did. But it's okay. We can still be friends, right?" 

_ Oh. _

That's what she wanted.

He had been hoping for so long, and when she said that he thought that he finally had a chance, but it wasn't the case.

It was on him, really. He dreamed too much.

But as much as he wanted to brood over it, Raquel was the best thing to ever happen in his life. No matter if they were friends, a couple, he always wanted to be with her, always. Sergio came to the conclusion that he would much rather not be dating her and stay friends, rather than dating, running into problems, and then not speaking to her for the rest of his life. He couldn't imagine a life without her. He needed to be grateful.

"Friends," Sergio gave her a smile. "Sure."

And so they spent the rest of the ball together, eating dinner, watching the stars, and dancing with their other friends. Angel was practically forgotten. It was a perfect night, a night Sergio would never forget. He couldn't thank Professor Slughorn enough the next day. And as for what Raquel said, he could live with it. He’d been living with it for almost three years now; a little while longer wouldn’t hurt.

So when he dropped her off at the Gryffindor common room that same night, and was reminded of what happened in that same place twenty-four hours earlier, he tried his best to dull the pain, knowing that if he just  _ took the chance _ , he could’ve been happy.

He now had to live with that for the rest of his life. 

⚡

_ God,  _ how Raquel hated mistletoe.

It was that time of the year, where snow filled the windows and the outer layer of the Hogwarts castle, and Hagrid and the other house elves began hanging wreaths, jingle bells, and talking snowmen around the hallways. Christmas gifts were anonymously being given around to other students in the middle of class, some sweet while others were full of pranks, like the Dungbomb Daniel received in the middle of Defense Against the Dark Arts, probably payback from what he did to Monica just a few months before.

Raquel personally  _ adored  _ the Christmas cheer. Days like these, filled with snow, Christmas carols, and hot chocolate by the fireplace reminded her of her family, and how happy they must’ve been celebrating Christmas together. It made her heart long for them; especially her sister, Laura, but they knew as well that she had to be here. It was her destiny as a witch.

Sergio, weirdly, didn’t seem to feel the same way about Christmas as everyone else did, but Raquel more or less knew why. When she confronted him about it, all he had to say was this:

_ “Our family never liked celebrating Christmas. It got worse after… well, you know.” _

Needless to say, it was understood. She knew it was probably the most she’d ever get out of him, and the fact that he was comfortable enough to even say  _ that  _ in the first place was good enough for her. The last thing Raquel wanted was to trigger any memories of his that he certainly did not want.

However, she still gave him the benefit of the doubt, telling him and the gang about their yearly Christmas masses, and the gifts she would receive after from her family members, usually with extra pound notes added into them as a little surprise. 

But the one thing she never understood, the  _ one  _ thing she extremely hated, was mistletoe. Raquel never understood the concept of kissing someone just because the both of them went under a plant hanging on the ceiling. She had fallen for that trap one too many times back in her elementary school, and now that they were being hung all around Hogwarts, Raquel would do  _ anything  _ for some sort of secret tunnel system that would allow her to get to class without having to accidentally go through that Christmas ritual.

Unfortunately, that didn’t exist, and as the annual Hogwarts Christmas feast arrived before students left for their vacation, she only needed one last day before she could go home and not have to experience the fear of walking through the hallways.

She spotted Agata, Sergio, Mirko, and the other members of the gang saving a seat for her at their usual end of the table, and this made Raquel extremely glad that they didn’t limit the students to sit on their own house tables for the Christmas feast. Everything seemed much livelier when all of them were together. She made her way to the long table, where they were already talking.

“Fucking finally! I don’t have to do any more homework for a month,” Martin shouted, earning a scolding from McGonagall about the use of proper language inside school. The others couldn't help but laugh at him about it. After a few more minutes of chatter, the feast began. Plates upon plates of food magically appeared onto the table, full of different dishes that even the pickiest eaters would love. The desserts were decorated differently to match the season, snowflake-shaped sugar cookies and cupcakes with reindeer, Santa, and other Christmas characters. Raquel truly felt blessed; the house elves must’ve put a lot of effort into the meal. 

As they were eating, Dumbledore began his usual farewell speech for the vacation, every student listening intently. The headmaster demanded too much respect for people to talk while he was speaking. Thankfully, he kept his speech short, as everyone wanted to continue eating, and after a while, everyone left the Great Hall, having finished their meal. The gang made their way to the castle garden, where they usually hung out together as they couldn’t go to each other’s common rooms.

Something that completely passed Raquel’s mind, however, was that goddamn mistletoe hanging over one of the main hallways. When they walked through it, Silene let out a gasp and pointed at Raquel and Sergio.

“Mistletoe!”

Oh  _ hell  _ no.

Everyone looked at them, wide grins on their faces, having waited for this for almost two years now. With all the stares on her back, Raquel couldn’t seem to think properly. However, Sergio did all the thinking for her, and whispered into her ear.

_ “We don’t have to do it. It’s just a plant. Don’t panic, okay?” _

As she marveled on how he always knew what to say to her, Raquel knew he was right. She knew what had to be done.

“Guys, we’re not doing it. It’s a freaking  _ plant _ .” 

“But Raquel-” Monica interrupted.    
  


“No buts. Can we go to the garden already?” The gang sighed and cast looks at each other, knowing that while they wanted to press, Raquel getting mad wasn’t worth the risk, so they moved to the garden, bringing their presents with them. While she was relieved that they were cut some slack, Raquel didn't miss the flash of pain in Sergio's eyes.

They sat around in a circle, excited to show everyone what they bought from Hogsmeade. Silene went first, giving the boys candy from Honeydukes (everyone knew that Sergio had a penchant for Chocolate Frogs), and giving the girls beautiful necklaces from Japan, where Silene’s family was originally from. Mirko got everyone personalized quills, Monica gave them poems that she created specifically for them, Agata got them Quidditch merchandise based on what team each person supported, and Martin got them…… cactus plants.

Yeah, Raquel wasn’t even going to question that one.

Finally, it was time for Raquel to give gifts, and she decided to get each person something different. Martin received five different fidget toys from her; Raquel noticing he itched for something to play with in class. Monica got a book filled with pressed flowers, and she gave Agata and Silene clothes from American Eagle; something they had wanted ever since Raquel told them about shopping malls in London. And lastly, she got Sergio a notebook.

Yes, a notebook.

But not just any normal notebook.

As Sergio stared at the notebook, everyone’s faces containing mild confusion, Raquel explained. “I got one for myself too, and put a spell on it. If you write in it, the writing appears on mine as well! We can talk during class without, you know… actually talking.”

That seemed to register in Sergio’s head much better, even if his gratefulness was only displayed as a simple nod and smile. Raquel knew he’d probably thank her much more later, when they were alone.

Now it was Sergio’s turn to give: the last of the group to do so.

He gave the boys new brooms; all of them being on their respective house Quidditch teams except Martin, who received a brand new quill set instead. When each Nimbus 2000 was revealed, each boy's eyes widened excitedly, and Daniel looked like he was about to cry.

"Thank you," he said to Sergio after he gave it to them, giving him a hug. "My family  _ never _ would've been able to afford this."

All Raquel could do was marvel. She was  _ quite  _ aware of how much those brooms were, and they didn't just cost a couple of galleons.

As for Agata, Monica, and Silene, they were given a hundred galleons each, Sergio's way of making up for the fact that he had no idea what to get them. Monica looked like she wanted to return it all back, but the looks from the rest of the gang made her understand it was most likely going to be a losing battle, so all they could do was give their thanks. 

And lastly, Raquel's.

"Um, could I, uh, give this to Raquel in private?" Sergio asked the gang with a blush painting his cheeks. They didn't need to be asked twice, and as they all left, you could hear the excited whispers of each of them, predicting what was going to happen.

So at the end of the day, Raquel and Sergio were left alone once more, the sun beginning to set on Hogwarts. He turned to face her, his blush ever so present, and took out a box.

"I got this because it reminded me of you. If you don't like it, I can always return it and get you something else-"

Before he could continue his hour-long monologue, Raquel took out the box from his hand and opened it. Inside was a beautiful gold necklace, shaped in the form of a sun.

It was the most stunning thing Raquel had ever seen.

"Do you like it?" Sergio said hopefully, not wanting to mess up her gift, out of all people.

"Sergio, it's…. gorgeous. I love it." She quickly removed it from the box, and put it around her neck. It was even lovelier. 

He leaned back against the bench, with a look of relief on his face.

"Oh thank god. I was worried I'd have to go back and find something else."

She laughed, and leaned her head on his shoulder, enjoying the moment of quiet solitude they had.

"Why did you send the others away?"

"They probably would've called me a ladies man if they found out I gave you a necklace for Christmas."

"No other reason?" He looked at her, trying to figure out the answer she wanted.

"Nope," he finally answered. "Just that."

He wrapped an arm around her as she snuggled into his side, thankful no one else was there to see it. Sergio would never do these things when other people were around. They watched the sunset slowly lower, the wind blowing through their ears.

"You know you practically spoil us, right? Those brooms were hundreds of galleons each. And I  _ know  _ for a fact that you would rather drop dead than give me a fake gold necklace, so why did you give us all that?"

He played with the fabric of her robe, a few minutes passing by before he gave an answer. "You guys are the only family I have left. Can't I spoil them every once in a while?"

She never heard such a bold confession from him, and it only made her heart ache more. Only saints deserved Sergio. She couldn't believe she was one of them.

There was no more talking after that, and as the orange sky turned to dark blue, Raquel realized it was getting late, and she still needed to pack her bags for tomorrow morning. Sergio seemed to realize that as well, and without any words, they packed up their gifts and left.

They eventually reached the staircase that went down into the Slytherin common room, where they both stopped. 

"Sergio?"

"Yeah?"

"I still owe you this."

She gently, ever so softly, pressed her lips to his, and his first reaction was shock, and slightly pushed her away.

"Raquel…. do you really-"

"Yes." And she did it one more time, savoring the feeling before she parted with him, both of them rooted to the ground to process what just happened.

"Merry Christmas, Sergio." And with as much confidence as a 13 year old who just had her first kiss could muster, she smiled and walked away, leaving Sergio with his jaw on the floor.

Merry Christmas  _ indeed _ .


	5. Year 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raquel and Sergio settle into their fourth year at Hogwarts, where they deal with difficult group projects, forbidden memories, and a summer that they'll never forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi my loves!
> 
> ....Yes, I forgot to update last Sunday again. It is up to you whether you want to strangle me for it, but I just keep! forgetting! this story! exists! As a small apology, I have decided to unload the entirety of the fourth year in one chapter, just so you guys can be preoccupied with something for a little while why I try to get my updating schedule together. 
> 
> A small fact about this story: it was only supposed to be a one-shot! Yes, you heard me correctly. It was supposed to be no more than 10k words and something I would've finished in less than a week, but my imagination got ahead of itself and decided to make it a 50k multi-chapter story instead. Anyways, thank you to anyone who is still reading this small fic, and I hope you guys enjoy the 4th year of Raquel and Sergio!
> 
> Dedicated to Yel, who really stuck with this story from the beginning. I love you, my older, prettier, probably smarter other half.

**YEAR FOUR**

“I have an idea.”   
  


“What kind of idea?”

“You won’t like it.”

“Raquel, have I ever liked any of your ideas?

“Fine. You have a point.”

After another summer of countless letters, shopping with Sergio in Diagon Alley, and improving her Quidditch skills, hoping for another championship, Raquel was back in Hogwarts for her 4th year. As the years piled up, so did the work, and while it’s only been a month since she’s been back, the teachers have wasted no time in guaranteeing that the workload would be much, much bigger than it was previously.

_ “You only have one last year left until your O.W.L’s,” Professor McGonagall said during her weekly Transfiguration class. Some of you aren’t even competent enough to make it to the 4th year, let alone survive during the 5th. So may I ask all of you to PLEASE put the effort in, because I won’t be confirming your success until you’ve worked for it. Now, time to begin class.” _

Not one teacher cut them slack, and so Sergio and Raquel were now stuck in the library once more, trying to figure out an idea for a Care of Magical Creatures group project that Hagrid assigned them. The goal was to find an animal that hadn’t been presented in class yet, and demonstrate the other students how to properly take care of said creature. However, they have been taught most animals already, leading to some students having to think beyond the box; creatures that were dangerous, mischievous, or even illegal.

That was their current dilemma.

“Sergio, some creatures here can be found in Hogwarts. They just won’t allow us to go where they reside.”   
  


“You mean, the  _ Forbidden Forest _ ? No, absolutely not.”

“Sergio-”   
  


“We could be expelled!”   
  
“They won’t catch us. Look,” Raquel pointed at the book she was holding, an illustration of a small pixie drawn onto the page. “This is a Brighton Pixie. While they can be deceiving, they aren’t dangerous, and guess what: some live in the Forbidden Forest! All we have to do is go there, and capture one or two-”   
  


“Raquel, it’s called the  _ Forbidden  _ Forest for a reason. Who knows what we’ll end up seeing there? It’s dangerous, and requires a lot of time for planning, which we don’t necessarily have-”

“You know for a  _ fact  _ that we’d be able to do this. Hagrid probably won’t even care that much! He does have a soft spot for the scarier creatures-”

Sergio put down his book one final time, and looked at her. “If we don’t find anything else, fine. But there are so many books left to go through, we’ll easily be able to find a creature that is  _ legal  _ to showcase. Deal?” He gave her a look of superiority, as if he knew he’d be able to do better. Raquel hated that smug face, his competitive, know-it-all side of him shining through (she personally called it his “Professor” side, although she would never tell him that), and she wanted to be able to prove him wrong.

“Fine. Deal.” And so they ended their conversation at that, the pile of books not being able to read themselves.

⚡

As it turns out, there were no other creatures Sergio would accept after all, which made Raquel quite proud of herself, being able to beat Sergio academically for the very first time. He grudgingly accepted this fact with a frown on his face, and as they planned their mission to go inside the forest, Raquel made it her personal joy to point out the fact that she beat him, to his misery. If his eyes weren’t staring at the plan, they’d be glaring at her.

“Look, it’s not my fault you couldn’t find another creature that suited your standards-”

“Oh,  _ shut up _ .” Raquel took it all in good faith, and by the end of the planning phase, he seemed perfectly fine to begin talking to her normally once more, without muttering under his breath. Raquel was  _ still  _ too full of pride to say anything, so instead, she kept her mouth shut. There was no knowing what he’d do if he got pissed off with her.

Their plan was relatively simple: Sergio had kept a schedule of Filch’s nightly castle checks, so they would be able to avoid him as they left the castle. From there, they would hide between the field of pumpkin patches Hagrid planted for the Halloween season, and as the pumpkins were relatively the size of a car, it would be no problem to make their way through the patch without anyone noticing until they reached the forest. Sergio made all of this up in less than 30 minutes, which made Raquel wonder if he ever had to make plans like this before. The sheer speed of which he made it up was incredible.

If Raquel ever needed to rob a bank, she’d probably recruit him.

They would carry out their plan tonight, right in time before they had to present their creature to the class. Their grade for the whole semester rode on this one project, and Raquel wouldn’t know what to do with herself if they failed, so this was really her only option. 

“Sergio?”

“Yeah?”

“When we get to the forest, we’ll be safe… right?”

He hesitated for a moment, apprehension in his eyes. “Things might get… a little dangerous. But it’s fine. You’re with me.” He took her hand and squeezed it, and if Raquel was slightly less terrified, she would’ve swooned over his hand in hers. But for now, she clung to his hand as if it was her lifeline, because the last thing she wanted was to  _ die  _ just for a school project.

At last, nightfall came, and the minute Sergio and Raquel finished their assignments for the day, they slowly went into an abandoned broom closet that Sergio had found the previous week, only appearing out of thin air when he asked for it. It was one of the weirder things placed in the castle, but Raquel was just happy they had somewhere to hide while Filch was making his rounds. 

According to Sergio’s predictions, they would have to wait in the broom closet for at least 15 minutes before they could safely make it out. That led to an almost awkward silence between them as they waited in fear, scared that Filch would find them.

_ “So, ever had to hide in a broom closet for your past school projects?”  _ Raquel whispered, wanting to break the tension. 

_ “Not particularly, no.”  _ It took every effort for them not to let out a chuckle.

Suddenly, there was a huge thud from outside the broom closet. They froze immediately, terrified that someone caught them. Thankfully, no more sounds were made after that, which Sergio took as a sign to start leaving. There was no knowing what would happen if they stayed here any longer.

Raquel clung to his arm as soon as they left the closet, the moonlight casting an eerie glow over the hallways where they went to class everyday. Most of the portraits were sleeping, and no one seemed to be awake. It was a perfect setting to escape.

They slowly went down the castle staircases, occasionally freezing whenever they saw a ghost pass by, but other than that, there were no jump scares from anything else. Sooner or later, they reached the castle grounds, and when Hagrid’s hut came into sight, Raquel let out a sigh of relief. They made it through the first part of their journey.

The huge pumpkin patch was now the only thing separating them from the forest, and according to Sergio, was the easiest part to get through. Although they were still cautious, ensuring they made as little noise as possible, Raquel’s stance was much more relaxed as they entered the patch, whispering to Sergio about the time Paula, her owl, almost flew to her neighbor's house.

_ “She’s such a fussy owl. Honestly she would’ve been perfect for you, the way you both are so picky about everything-” _

_ “You can’t blame me for having taste, you know. And you can have Bella instead, always wanting to eat something. We really should bring them to an owl daycare of some sort.” _

_ “Do owl daycares exist?” _ _   
  
_

_ “I’ve heard of some before, but I’m not sure where to find-” _

A large shadow suddenly appeared on one of the pumpkins, in the shape of a huge dog, almost a wolf. Raquel looked at Sergio in fear, forgetting one very, very crucial part of the plan.

_ Fang. _

Sergio did not seem to take into consideration the fact that Hagrid had a huge, terrifying dog, or the fact that it could’ve possibly been awake at this hour. Raquel immediately acted upon instinct, pushing Sergio up against one of the pumpkins, her body pinned against his, as Fang began sniffing around the patch.

They stood there in silence, hoping,  _ praying  _ that Fang wouldn’t come any closer. After a few minutes, you could hear the dog make its way back to the hut, and Raquel’s gaze turned back onto Sergio’s, his eyes locked onto hers.

His face was dangerously close, and it brought back the memories of last Christmas, the kiss that happened so long ago Raquel could barely recall it. The morning after that kiss, they both silently agreed to never talk about it, scared at what  _ that  _ conversation would bring to the both of them.

The truth was, Raquel wasn’t ready. She had just turned 14, and her complicated feelings for her best friend was not exactly highest on her priorities list. They both needed to be mature if they were to ever pursue a relationship, and at this age, Raquel knew deep down that it would cause more pain than happiness, especially if they broke it off. She didn’t know how to function without Sergio, and if anything happened to them because of some stupid  _ feelings _ , she wouldn’t be able to cope with it.

So was that kiss a mistake? Yes. One that she would  _ gladly _ repeat if given the chance, but she decided not to. It wasn’t worth it.

She let go of Sergio, and without words, quietly motioned for them to continue their walk. Nothing interrupted them after that except for the dreadful silence filling her ears, reflecting back on what just happened. She didn’t have much time to dwell on it, however; they had reached the beginning of the forest.

It was dark, black, scary-looking, and everything Raquel imagined those creepy fairytale forests to look like. Of course she’s seen the Forbidden Forest before, but it was usually in daylight, where it looked much more peaceful. But in the middle of the night, Raquel felt as if a giant spider would arrive and eat both of them in a minute.

_ “This was a horrible idea.” _ _   
  
_

_ “You made it!” _ _   
  
_

_ “Doesn’t mean I don’t regret it.” _ _   
  
_

They took their first step into the woods, the fallen, wilted leaves cracking underneath them. The branches of the trees were sharp, almost deformed looking, and Raquel squeezed Sergio’s arm tighter than ever. Thankfully, they didn’t have to look that far, because after a few minutes of walking, they spotted a bush full of the Brighton pixies.

Raquel quietly brought out a jar she kept in her robe, and in a second, she managed to capture two of them. The pixies were clearly angry, their tiny fists banging against the glass jar, but both Raquel and Sergio were too relieved to care about their wellbeing. The mission was a success, and as they took their route back to the castle, Raquel realized how close to death they could’ve been.

_ “Sergio?” _ _   
  
_

_ “Yes?” _

_ “We’re never doing this again.” _ _   
  
_

_ “Agreed.” _

Hagrid was delighted when they showed up the next day with the pixies, seemingly uncaring about where they came from. They passed the project with flying colors.

Raquel and Sergio never talked about it again.

⚡

It was an unusually quiet day in Hogwarts. Rain pattered on the windows, the History of Magic class was just as boring as ever with Professor Binns’ voice droning on into nothingness; Raquel felt as if she wanted to fall asleep.

And then there was Sergio.

Sergio had been very quiet today, even for his normal self. Raquel’s constant laughter and jokes did nothing to brighten his personality, which was extremely rare for him. Even if she wanted to pry, Raquel knew better than that; if he didn’t want to tell her something, he didn’t. End of story.

But she was his  _ best friend _ . She would rather make fun of Dumbledore’s beard than judge Sergio for how he feels. So currently, the two sides of Raquel’s brain were arguing left and right, debating whether she should stay quiet, as she has these past few years, or actually ask why.

Who knows, she may learn something new about him in the process.

That singular statement decided it for her. After History of Magic, she made her way to the Great Hall for lunch, where she found Sergio sitting in his usual spot amongst the Slytherins. As she went to the table, Arturo gave her a dirty look, and she returned it with equal enthusiasm. There were few things Raquel hated in life, but if she had a list, Arturo would almost  _ certainly  _ be on it.

She creeped up behind Sergio, and with a small tap on his back, all it took was a whispered  _ “Hey”  _ for him to turn around and face her.

“What are you doing here?” He said, frown lines creasing his face.

_ Jeez.  _ He really wasn’t in a good mood.

“I was wondering…. Would you wanna eat in the garden today? The weather’s really pretty.”

Sergio looked around the table, meeting the eyes of the other Slytherin boys who were snickering at him, probably due to the fact that he was being bossed around by a  _ girl _ . Raquel couldn’t care less, and when he silently stood up to follow her, Raquel let out a smile of triumph.

They settled in the garden, the beautiful morning sun casting light on them, and as they quietly ate their food by the bench, Raquel decided to let it out once and for all.

“What happened to you today?”   
  


Sergio immediately looked away, clearly affected by Raquel’s question.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She forced him to face her. “Yes you do. Sergio, you _ must know  _ by now that you can tell me anything. What the hell is going on?”   
  


He stayed silent, but Raquel was patient, sitting there until he gave some sort of an explanation. Finally, after what felt like hours, he seemed to have given in, and leaned back into the bench, letting out a shaky sigh. 

“Today was the day Andres…. Well, you know.”

_ Oh. _

Raquel felt  _ horrible _ . She was so  _ selfish _ to think it was just one of those “moods” of his. He was clearly still affected by it, and she couldn’t blame him. If her sister sacrificed herself, she wouldn't be okay for a long time either.

“Sergio, I am  _ so sorry _ -”

“It’s okay. You didn’t know.” The silence between them stretched even longer, Raquel feeling as if she crossed a line of some sort. There must be  _ some way  _ to make it up to him-

“Tell me what Andres was like.” The words came out of her mouth before she had time to think about it, Sergio’s eyes whipping towards hers.

“What?”   
  
“I  _ said,  _ tell me what he was like.” Raquel gave him her full attention, not wanting him to miss out on the fact that she  _ cared _ . That she would always be there for him.

Sergio looked at her in disbelief, but after seeing the look on her face, the one that he knew wasn’t going to give up, he relented. 

“Well, some people were right. He wasn’t the best person.” Raquel opened her mouth up to protest, but before she could do so, he held up a finger to stop her. “It’s the truth. He constantly threatened people, hurt them, and when he joined You-Know-Who….” He stared off into the sky. “Maybe even killed some.”

“But even through all of that, he was my brother. He made time for me, took care of me when I was sick, and provided all the love our parents never gave. No matter what he’s done, you can’t just forget that, you know? He may be a monster in other people’s minds, but to me he was… Andres. Not the Andres that terrorized everyone, the true Andres. The one that cared.”

And once Sergio began, he didn’t stop. He told her everything, from his childhood days spent in the hospital to his parents dying, and the things Andres did to protect them both. Raquel could only listen in awe. He was only 14 years old, yet been through so much trauma a 50-year-old man could barely handle. 

At the end of it all, Sergio was close to tears, and while she was aware there were other students near them, she pulled him in for a hug.

_ “Hey,”  _ she began.  _ “I’m proud of you. And I'll always be here for you."  _ He squeezed her tighter, and just like that, Raquel knew. He finally let down his boundaries. He trusted her.

They went back to class, Sergio feeling much better, and at the end of the day, she decided to take them both on a trip to the lake, simply to give their respects. No matter what Andres did, he deserved at least that.

_ "Goodbye, Andres."  _ Sergio whispered in silent agony as the lake made tiny ripples, perhaps a small sign from above, showing that no matter what, Andres would be with him.

He was finally in peace. And Raquel hoped that in a way, Sergio was too.

⚡

Every student loved the last day of school. It was a day filled with sunshine, relaxation, and laziness, where the worst possible things could happen and you wouldn't care, all because in a few hours, you'd be back in your home, with your family, to relax before the next semester came.

Unfortunately, that's not how Sergio's summer breaks looked like.

After the Hogwarts Express dropped them off at the station, Sergio was left on his own. He had no parents, no brother, no close family members to come home to. Of course he had a home, and his house-elf, Binky, but the most exciting things to usually happen to him during breaks were the letters Raquel sent him, which took weeks at a time to arrive.

He had divulged all this to Raquel the previous week, and while he did reassure her that he enjoyed the peaceful solidarity, it didn’t stop her from getting angry that he never told her before. She couldn’t seem to fathom the fact that while she was out enjoying herself every summer, he was left alone. 

_ “It isn’t right! How do you not have at least a guardian or something-” _

_ “I’m pretty sure I was given to the Lestranges, but they didn’t care-” _

_ “As in…. Bellatrix?” _

_ “I’d prefer to not go there. You now see why I live on my own?” _ _   
  
_

_ “Yeah. If I had to pick between living by myself or with a psycho family, I’d pick myself as well.” _

At the end of their conversation, Sergio sensed that Raquel was up to something, although he didn’t know exactly what it was. He finally found out the day before school ended, Raquel running towards him excitedly between classes. 

“Okay, before I say anything, please don’t freak out-”

“Raquel, you saying that is making me more worried. Sit down.”

She sat down on the castle staircase, and blurted her secret out.

“My mama said yes!”   
  


“To what?”   
  


“To you staying with us over the summer.”

_ ….What? _

Sergio couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A whole  _ summer  _ with Raquel and her family. Her  _ family _ .

After three years of living alone, this opportunity seemed so foreign to Sergio. And yet, he could already imagine the fun they would have. He’d learn about the muggle world, Paula and Bella could play together, and his summer wouldn’t consist entirely of him anymore.

It would consist of  _ her _ .

“ _ Hello _ , Sergio!” Raquel waved a hand to his face, checking if he was still there. “So? What do you think? You don’t have to go, I was just thinking the summer would be so much more fun if you-”

“Yes.” She looked at him.

“ _ Really _ ?” Sergio nodded, a grin on his face. 

“AHHH!” Raquel pulled him into another one of her hugs, squeezing so tightly Sergio felt as if he could suffocate anytime soon if she didn’t let go. “I promise, it’s going to be so fun. Laura will be at a camp most of the time, so we don’t have to worry about her, and my parents are really nice and friendly so that won’t be a problem-”   
  


Her parents. Sergio would have to meet her parents.

It’s not as if that  _ worried  _ him. In fact, it shouldn’t be a concern whatsoever. It’s not as if Sergio was dating Raquel, so meeting her parents (specifically her father), wouldn’t be a problem, right?

_ Oh who are you kidding. It’s definitely gonna be a problem. _

Sergio didn’t have much of an idea on how muggle parents were, but if it’s anything like the stereotypes he usually saw in movies, Raquel’s father probably wasn’t delighted at the fact that she was asking them to bring a boy home with her for summer break. He vowed to himself that  _ no,  _ he would not mess this up, and try his best to show Raquel’s parents the most delightful side of him.

But his utter happiness of the fact melted all his worries away, finally having something to look forward to when they leave on the Hogwarts Express train the next day. The rest of the afternoon passed in blissful silence, Sergio caring more about what clothes to pack in his trunk rather than the last minute knowledge the Hogwarts professors were trying to cram into his brain.

At last, it was time for the Hogwarts Express to pick them up, the gang saying their fellow goodbyes to each other in their usual train compartment. Martin and Daniel were trading Chocolate Frog cards, Monica snuggled into Daniel’s side, while Mirko, Silene, and Agata were discussing a meet-up over the summer. Raquel, on the other hand, was simply trying to comfort Sergio’s growing fears.

“It’s gonna be fine!”   
  
“You say that now, but Raquel, I have  _ never  _ met a muggle family in my entire life. What if they hate me? What if we have different table manners? Do you guys even have house elves-”

“First of all, we most certainly  _ do not  _ have house elves. And secondly, they’ll love you! They have no reason to hate you, and you’re a great person, Sergio. I wouldn’t be friends with you if you weren’t.” Raquel gave him another one of her bright smiles, and while he was still worried, her reassurance never failed to comfort him.

The gang took a nap shortly after, exhausted by the day’s events, and as the sun rose, the train came to a halt at Platform 9 and ¾’s. Grudgingly, they got off the train with sleepy faces, half-eaten snacks, and Sergio’s hair was sticking in every direction. With a start, he remembered he’d be meeting Raquel’s parents in less than a few minutes, and hurriedly put himself together, to Raquel’s slight confusion. 

“What in the world are you doing?”

“I have to look presentable when I meet your family, Raquel.”

Raquel gets up slowly with a scoff, and turns to face him. “Sergio,  _ relax _ . It’s not like I’m bringing a boyfriend home.”   
  


_ If I asked at the right time, you would be. _

“It doesn’t matter. I can’t go out and meet them like this!”

She let out a quiet giggle, and Sergio sensed that she was somehow enjoying this. Thankfully, nothing was said after, and the gang said their final goodbyes to each other, promises of meeting up being passed around. Platform 9 and ¾’s looked the same as it did every year, families of every kind looking through each train compartment for their child. The brown brick walls slowly cracking, Aurors from the Ministry of Magic making sure no one was getting kidnapped, and the ticket booth located in the corner of the station was still abandoned, save the occasional homeless wizard that hung out there from time to time. 

In the past years, what Sergio would usually do at this time is search for his house elf, Binky, take the Knight Bus to his home at 1438 Birmingham, write a letter to Raquel as soon as he got home, unpack, and then proceed to do nothing but sleep for the next three days, Binky occasionally bringing him food. However, this summer was looking to be very different, and as Raquel tugged his hand, running to her family, Sergio couldn’t help but get more nervous every passing second.

He turned his head to meet the eyes of Raquel’s mother, sparkling blue ones that seemed to look right into his soul. You could tell she had quite a bit of age, but nonetheless looked at Sergio with a bright, calming smile. You could tell where Raquel got her happy personality from.

On her side was a stern, scary looking man that Sergio assumed to be Raquel’s father. Tapping his foot on the crumbling pavement, the flash of a police badge catching Sergio’s eye, he was everything Sergio hoped Raquel’s father  _ wouldn’t  _ be, a man that would probably throw Sergio out of his property the minute he said anything even mildly offensive to his daughter. Below him, a small girl was playing with her mother’s necklace, asking things like “When will she be here?” and “Can we go home now?”. Her utter cuteness radiated through the whole station, and as Raquel picked her up and gave her a hug, Sergio awkwardly stood there, not wanting to interrupt the reunion between her and Laura.

After greetings were given and kisses were made, Raquel motioned for Sergio to move closer to them, and took to his side. 

“Mama, Papa, Laura, this is Sergio.” He gave a polite wave, and Laura looked at him questioningly. 

“Does he do magic too?”

Sergio bent down to meet Laura face to face, a grin forming on his face. “Yes I do, Laura.”

She gasped out loud. “You know my name! You really are a wizard!” Raquel let out a laugh, and even her parents gave small smiles towards Sergio.

He turned to face Raquel’s mom, who immediately pulled him in for a tight hug. While he did appreciate the gesture, his lungs were beginning to run out of air, and had to motion for Raquel to intervene.

“ _ Mama!  _ You’re suffocating him.”

“Sorry about that,  _ hijo _ .” She promptly let go of Sergio, and clapped her hands together. “You see, Raquel’s been talking about you for over three years now, and we’ve simply been waiting for a chance to see the boy she’s so obsessed with-”

“ _ Mama. _ ” Raquel gave her mom a death glare.

“Don’t mind Raquel, she’s just embarrassed.” Raquel’s mom pulled out her hand for him to shake. “I’m Mrs. Murillo, but you can call me Marivi,  _ hijo. _ ” He took Marivi’s hand, pleased that at least  _ one  _ of her parents liked him so far.

He turned around to meet the stern face of Raquel’s father, Sergio’s hands beginning to shake. 

“Hello sir, I-I’m Sergio-”

“I know who you are.” Sergio froze immediately, and only when Marivi shoved him on the shoulder did her father start laughing.

“I’m sorry Sergio, that was too easy to resist.” Almost instantly, it felt as if a huge weight was lifted off Sergio’s shoulders, and he let out a nervous chuckle, happy that Raquel’s father didn’t hate him, at least.

“Most of her past friends call me Mr. Murillo, but you can call me Juan.” He shook Sergio’s hand, while simultaneously bending down to whisper in Sergio’s ear.  _ “But you can’t share rooms. Absolutely not.”  _ Sergio nodded frantically, not wanting to get on Juan’s bad side.

“Y-yes sir.” That seemed to satisfy Juan enough, and as they made their way out of the station, Raquel excitedly began telling Sergio about the plans they had for the summer, Laura occasionally joining in on the conversation. Almost instantly, Sergio could see the bond between the two sisters; while Laura got on Raquel’s nerves sometimes, they clearly loved one another, making Sergio miss the moments he had with his sibling. 

He snapped out of his trance as they reached the car that would be taking them to Raquel’s house, a sleek black Bentley that reminded Sergio of the cars his own father used to drive back in the day. They drove through most of Central London, and while Sergio had seen the muggle world once before, it baffled him to this day how most muggles lived without magic. Umbrellas instead of rain-protection spells, cars that ran on the ground instead of flying, and shopping malls without moving mannequins as store helpers. He stared out the window in silent awe, Raquel quickly noticing his interest in the outside.

“It’s weird now, isn’t it?” She quietly said, moving to his side of the car. “You start feeling grateful whenever you see them doing anything relatively normal.” He gave a small nod, silently agreeing with her. Sergio couldn’t imagine a world without magic.

Slowly, the grey, concrete buildings and cobblestone streets turned to grassy fields and dirt roads, and Sergio realized that wherever Raquel’s family lived, it wasn’t in the busy city. Juan stopped the car in front of a giant farm, almost as huge as the Malfoy estate Sergio used to visit when he was still friends with Lucius. Animals of all kinds lived in fenced patches beside the house, and the land stretched far and wide, open for all kinds of activities. 

With a small pang in his heart, he realized that in a way, Raquel’s family was a lot like his, the only difference being hers was still intact. He may be baffled at the way ordinary muggles lived, but the Wizarding World had its own flaws, and if they lived like this, without the fear of You-Know-Who hanging over their heads, maybe life would’ve been different.

Maybe Sergio would’ve been happier.

However, it was not the time to be thinking such thoughts, not when Laura was practically dragging him out of the car. With a chuckle, he and Raquel watched as she tried with all her might to carry both Raquel and Sergio’s trunks, ending in failure when she finally gave up and left it to her father to carry all the luggage. Raquel quickly dragged Sergio into the farm for a house tour, and he was quickly met with the sight of a cozy, almost cottage-like living room. The walls were made of smooth, individual stones stacked up on top of each other, and a huge fireplace was stationed in the center of the room, multiple couches surrounding it. 

“ _ Hijo,  _ come here! You and Raquel must be exhausted, have a cup of hot chocolate.”

Before he could forget, Sergio turned to Raquel and whispered,  _ “What does hijo mean?” _ _   
  
_

She gave him a smile. “It means son in Spanish, Sergio.”   
  


He did a double take. “S-son?”   
  


“Yeah.” Raquel said it casually, clearly not knowing what that meant to Sergio. After almost four years of living alone without a parental figure to guide him, he never would’ve imagined another parent acknowledging him at all, much more considering him a son.

Still in mild shock, he accepts Marivi’s offer, and sits down on the dining table to join their family. Laura, never running out of energy, began talking about the toys she would bring to camp, with Marivi having to remind her every few minutes that  _ no _ , she could not bring all her stuffed animals with her. Juan was on the couch, reading the daily newspaper, while Sergio and Raquel sipped on their hot chocolates in peace. Sergio could tell, however, that Raquel was dying to show him the rest of the house, so he set the cup down, gave her a knowing look, and she immediately motioned for him to go upstairs with her.

As Sergio and Raquel made their way up the tall, wooden staircase, picture frames of Raquel and her family littered the walls. With a smile, he spots a picture of Raquel as a baby, dressed up as a panda for Halloween season. Too polite to touch the frame, he stares at it for a while until Raquel notices, and with a sigh, drags him up the rest of the staircase before he gave any teasing remarks. The second floor consisted of what Sergio assumed to be Raquel, Laura, and her parents' bedrooms, and a guest room beside Raquel’s that Sergio would be sleeping in. 

“Why doesn’t your family live in the city?” The question came out of Sergio’s mouth before he could even think about it.

“Honestly…. I’m not sure. Both of my parents work in the city, but when they had me, they somehow decided that a field full of animals was better than a village full of friends.” Raquel let out a laugh. “At first I hated it, because I wanted to be close to my classmates, but now that I know what I am…..” Her voice trailed off. “It was probably for the best.”

“And why is that?”   
  
“It’s hard for me to be around other people without truly being myself, Sergio.” Raquel entered a hallway, and Sergio followed her. “You know the rules. If humans like myself ever found out wizards existed because of me, I’d be expelled immediately. No matter how much I wanted to spend time with other people, I can’t take the risk.” He quietly empathized with her, and seeing the sad look on her face, Sergio tried to make her feel better.

“I didn’t even  _ know  _ muggles existed until a couple of years ago.”   
  


“After being in St. Mungo’s for almost three years, I wouldn’t either.” He laughed and gave her a smile, happy she was comfortable enough to make jokes about his past. He had been miserable over it for far too long. 

Before he knew it, they had entered a room. Cream colored walls, white curtains lining the gigantic window placed in the middle of the room, and to top it all off, a white-gold princess bed that served as the centerpiece. Sergio would’ve almost thought it was Laura’s room until he spotted the spell-books on the book shelf, potted plants meticulously cared for on the windowsill, and Paula’s cage hanging beside Raquel’s bed. Raquel always joked about how her parents called her their little  _ princesa,  _ but now seeing her room, it was more of a fact now than it was a joke.

Too curious to remember asking for permission, Sergio walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out one of the photo albums placed inside. To his delight, more photos of little Raquel were shown through the pages, and she had to snatch it out of his hands before he could even begin exploring it. 

“Hey!” He exclaimed.

“Don’t even try it.” She narrowed her eyes at him while he did his best to negotiate. 

“I promise, I won’t make fun of you.” He put his hand over his heart to show he was serious, and only after three minutes of playfully arguing did Raquel finally give in and allow him to open it. He immediately flipped the cover to the first page, and Raquel let out a laugh at the set of photos that were placed before them.

“That was when I was first born! We had just moved to this house, and I instantly became attached to this baby cow named Bucky. When I learned to walk, I brought him out for daily walks through the farm, until he became too big to lead around, so I rode him around the fields instead.” Raquel looked down on her lap. “He died two years ago, but he was the best animal I’ve ever had.”

Instinctively, Sergio pulled her in for a side hug, which she responded to with a smile, leaning her head on his shoulder. With a pang, he realized that these hugs were becoming increasingly more common between them nowadays, which confused him even further. After the unspoken kiss that happened in their previous year, Sergio thought they were finally done with this whole “Friends or not Friends?” thing, and that he could finally get over her in peace. He was beginning to accept that he and Raquel were never going to happen, but now that hugs like these were starting to be tossed around again, he was once again stuck in a place where he didn’t know what they were, much less how to respond to it.

Things with Raquel never seemed to be straightforward, unfortunately. 

However, instead of focusing on some stupid hug that probably meant nothing, Sergio instead flipped to the next page of the album, which resulted in more laughs from Raquel. He deserved a week or two without thinking about them in  _ that  _ way, and this was it. They spent the rest of the afternoon on the second floor, Sergio finding things from Raquel’s room that she had no choice but to explain as to how they got there, fixing a small owl sanctuary for Bella and Paula, setting up Sergio’s room, and constantly sharing more jokes and laughter until dinnertime.

At around 7pm, Marivi shouted from the first floor to announce that dinner was ready, causing Raquel to run to Sergio’s room in excitement, while he was still unpacking his belongings.

“What’s happening?” Sergio asked, confused about what was causing all the racket.

“Dinner’s ready! Oh, I absolutely  _ adore  _ the paella that mama makes when I come back from Hogwarts. Nothing the house-elves make can beat her cooking.”

"RAQUEL! SERGIO! COME DOWN ALREADY!" Laura's tiny yet powerful voice echoed through the second floor, clearly not patient enough to wait for them to come down. Sergio, not wanting to make the little girl angry on his first day here, quickly went down the stairs, Raquel following him.

A huge bowl of yellow rice, topped with sausage, clams, shrimp, and vegetables was what greeted them at the dinner table, and while Sergio had no idea what paella was, it certainly looked delicious. He politely sat down in the center seat of the table, Marivi on one end and Juan on the other while the two sisters sat on opposite sides of him. Laura was clearly excited to begin eating, and the second the family finished saying their prayers, she was already digging in.

" _ Laura _ ! We have a guest! Put your spoon down!" Marivi reprimanded.

" _ Sorry Mama, _ " Laura quietly whispered, and passed the serving spoon to Sergio. "Here you go!"

"No, it's okay Laura, you can go first." Sergio truly meant what he said, because he would rather not eat at all than see Laura's longing face for even five seconds. She looked at her mama, telling her "He said it!" and only after a long sigh and a nod from Marivi did she continue piling paella on her plate. 

Once she was finished, Laura handed the plate over to Sergio, who passed it to Raquel with a smile. Confused, she whispered to him as he gave her the plate.

_ "Aren't you hungry?" _

_ "Ladies first."  _ Raquel blushed, put the paella on her plate as fast as possible, and only when she gave it back to Sergio did he begin eating as well. The last person to receive the food was Juan, and as Sergio passed it to him, he gave an approving nod.

Sergio had no idea what that meant, but he let it be.

He took a first bite of the paella, and the flavor was so good that he almost spit it out in shock. All the flavours mixed together perfectly, making a one of a kind dish, and he now understood why everyone was too busy eating to talk. The food was simply delicious.

"So, Sergio, how do you like it here so far?" Marivi asked, a grin settling on her face.

"It's a beautiful home, Marivi. I love the fresh air and the fireplace-"

"Psh, you haven't even seen it all yet. Wait till I show you the library, and the horse stable, and maybe we can even feed the chickens."

Juan interrupted. "That isn't such a great idea. Sergio, the last time Raquel fed the chickens, she ended up feeding them the pig's food instead of the crackers-" 

"That was an  _ accident, _ for the last time!" Causing more laughs to come from the family, and Marivi almost choking on a piece of sausage.

Sergio may still not be entirely comfortable living with Raquel's family for the entire summer yet, but this moment truly solidified his happiness; he was spending the summer with his best friend. Whether or not it would go well, he didn't know, but it was already looking like a summer he would never forget.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me your thoughts! I'd love to hear them <3


End file.
